The Battle of Hakodate, also known as the Battle of Goryokaku, took place in Japan from December 4, 1868, to June 27, 1869. It was fought between the remnants of the Tokugawa shogunate army, which had formed the rebel Ezo Republic, and the armies of the newly formed Imperial government. The Imperial forces were composed mainly of troops from the Chōshū and Satsuma domains. This battle was the final stage of the Boshin War and occurred in the northern Japanese island of Hokkaidō, specifically around Hakodate. In Japanese, it is also referred to as "Goryokaku no tatakai."
The Boshin War broke out in 1868 between forces favoring the restoration of political authority to the Emperor and the government of the Tokugawa shogunate. The Meiji government defeated the Shōgun's forces at the Battle of Toba–Fushimi and subsequently occupied the Shōgun's capital at Edo.
Enomoto Takeaki, vice-commander of the Shogunate Navy, refused to hand over his fleet to the new government and departed Shinagawa on August 20, 1868, with four steam warships (Kaiyō, Kaiten, Banryū, Chiyodagata) and four steam transports (Kanrin Maru, Mikaho, Shinsoku, Chōgei), along with 2,000 sailors, 36 members of the "Yugekitai" (guerrilla corps) headed by Iba Hachiro, several officials of the former Bakufu government including the vice-commander in chief of the Shogunate Army Matsudaira Taro, Nakajima Saburozuke, and members of the French Military Mission to Japan, headed by Jules Brunet.
On August 21, the fleet encountered a typhoon off Chōshi, in which Mikaho was lost and Kanrin Maru, heavily damaged, was forced to turn back and was later captured at Shimizu.
The remaining ships of Enomoto Takeaki's fleet arrived at Sendai harbor on August 26, which was a center of the Northern Coalition against the newly formed Imperial government. However, the Imperial troops continued to advance north and took over the castle of Wakamatsu, making Sendai's position untenable. On October 12, 1868, the fleet left Sendai with two more ships and about 1,000 more troops, including former Bakufu troops, Shinsengumi troops, and Yugekitai, along with several French advisors who had arrived overland.
Enomoto and his rebels, with a force of around 3,000, arrived in Hokkaido in October 1868, landing on Washinoki Bay behind Hakodate on October 20. They eliminated local resistance from the Matsumae Domain, which had declared its loyalty to the Meiji government, and occupied the Goryokaku fortress on October 26, making it their command center.
The rebels then launched expeditions to take full control of the southern peninsula of Hokkaido. On November 5, Hijikata and his 800 troops, supported by the warships Kaiten and Banryo, occupied the castle of Matsumae. On November 14, Hijikata and Matsudaira converged on the city of Esashi with the added support of the flagship Kaiyo Maru and the transport ship Shinsoku. However, Kaiyo Maru was lost in a tempest near Esashi, and Shinsoku was lost as it tried to rescue Kaiyo Maru, dealing a terrible blow to the rebel forces.
On December 25, after eliminating all local resistance, the rebels declared the establishment of the Ezo Republic, with Enomoto Takeaki as its President. The government was organized in a manner similar to that of the United States. However, the Meiji government in Tokyo refused to recognize the breakaway republic.
The Ezo Republic established a defense network around Hakodate in preparation for an attack by the new Imperial government's troops. The Ezo troops were led by a combination of French and Japanese officers, with Ōtori Keisuke as Commander in chief and Jules Brunet as his second-in-command. Each of the four brigades was commanded by a French officer, including Fortant, Marlin, André Cazeneuve, and Bouffier, who were each supported by eight Japanese commanders. Two ex-French Navy officers, Eugène Collache and Henri Nicol, also joined the Ezo Republic, with Collache tasked with building fortified defenses along the volcanic mountains around Hakodate and Nicol in charge of re-organizing the Navy.
Meanwhile, the Meiji government rapidly assembled an Imperial fleet centered around the ironclad warship Kōtetsu, which they had acquired from the United States. Other ships in the fleet included Kasuga, Hiryū, Teibō, Yōshun, and Mōshun, which had been supplied by the fiefs of Saga, Chōshū, and Satsuma. The fleet left Tokyo on March 9, 1869, and headed north.
The Imperial fleet dispatched three warships for a surprise attack, known as the Battle of Miyako Bay. The Kaiten carried the elite Shinsengumi and ex-French Navy officer Henri Nicol, while the warship Banryu had ex-French officer Clateau on board, and the warship Takao had ex-French Navy officer Eugène Collache. To create surprise, the Kaiten entered Miyako harbor flying an American flag, but quickly raised the Ezo Republic flag seconds before boarding the Kōtetsu. The crew of Kōtetsu repelled the attack with a Gatling gun, resulting in significant losses to the attackers. The two Ezo warships retreated back to Hokkaidō, but the Takao was pursued and beached.
Finally, on April 9, 1869, the Imperial troops, numbering 7,000, landed on Hokkaidō and gradually took over various defensive positions, with the final battle taking place around the fortress of Goryōkaku and Benten Daiba near the city of Hakodate. The Naval Battle of Hakodate Bay, Japan's first major naval engagement between two modern navies, occurred towards the end of the conflict in May 1869. Before the final surrender in June 1869, the Ezo Republic's French military advisors escaped to a French Navy warship stationed in Hakodate Bay, the Coëtlogon, and returned to Yokohama before eventually returning to France.
On June 27, 1869, the military of Ezo Republic surrendered to the Meiji government, having lost almost half their numbers and most of their ships. This marked the end of the old feudal regime in Japan and the end of armed resistance to the Meiji Restoration. Several leaders of the rebellion were imprisoned for a few years before being rehabilitated and continuing with successful political careers in the new unified Japan. The Imperial Japanese Navy was formally established in July 1869 and incorporated many combatants and ships from the Battle of Hakodate.
Tōgō Heihachirō, who later became a famous admiral and hero of the Battle of Tsushima in 1905, participated in the Battle of Hakodate as a gunner on board the paddle steam warship Kasuga. Although the battle involved some of the most modern armament of the time, such as steam warships, an ironclad warship, Gatling guns, and Armstrong guns, many Japanese depictions of the battle during the few years after the Meiji Restoration offered an anachronistic representation of traditional samurai fighting with their swords, possibly to romanticize the conflict or downplay the amount of modernization already achieved during the Bakumatsu period (1853–1868).
The modernization of Japan actually started significantly earlier, around 1853, during the final years of the Tokugawa shogunate (the Bakumatsu period). The 1869 Battle of Hakodate shows two sophisticated adversaries in an essentially modern conflict where steam power and guns played a key role, although some elements of traditional combat remained. Western scientific and technological knowledge had already been entering Japan since around 1720 through rangaku, the study of Western sciences, and since 1853, the Tokugawa shogunate had been actively modernizing the country and opening it to foreign influence.
See also
-
Battles of Kawanakajima
The Battles of Kawanakajima were a series of fierce conflicts during Japan's Sengoku period, waged between Takeda Shingen of Kai Province and Uesugi Kenshin of Echigo Province from 1553 to 1564. These battles centered around the strategic Kawanakajima plain, lying between the Sai and Chikuma rivers in northern Shinano Province, now within Nagano City. The rivalry began when Shingen took control of Shinano, forcing Ogasawara Nagatoki and Murakami Yoshikiyo to seek refuge with Kenshin, prompting repeated clashes.
-
Siege of Odawara 1590
The Third Siege of Odawara in 1590 was a pivotal moment in Toyotomi Hideyoshi's efforts to neutralize the Hojo clan as a challenge to his authority. In the months leading up to the siege, the Hojo made significant, hurried improvements to the castle's defenses as Hideyoshi’s intentions became clear. However, despite Hideyoshi's overwhelming force, there was little actual combat during the siege.
-
Battle of Tenmokuzan
The Battle of Tenmokuzan in 1582 is remembered as the final stand of the Takeda clan in Japan. This battle marked the last attempt by Takeda Katsuyori to resist Oda Nobunaga's relentless campaign against him. Fleeing from his pursuers, Katsuyori set fire to his fortress at Shinpu Castle and sought refuge in the mountains at Iwadono, a stronghold held by his loyal retainer, Oyamada Nobushige. However, Oyamada betrayed Katsuyori, denying him entry. Left with no other option, Katsuyori committed suicide alongside his wife, while the remnants of his army made a valiant effort to hold off their attackers.
-
Battle of Oshu
The Northern Fujiwara clan had governed the Mutsu and Dewa provinces since 1087, maintaining their rule for over a century by 1189. The clan was founded by Fujiwara no Kiyohira, alongside Minamoto no Yoshiie, who established their independence in Hiraizumi, located in present-day Iwate Prefecture. Under Kiyohira, and later his successors Fujiwara no Motohira and Fujiwara no Hidehira, the Northern Fujiwara reached the height of their power in the Tohoku region. They infused the area with Kyoto culture and constructed significant temples, such as Chuson-ji, founded in 1095.
-
Battle of Omosu
The 1580 Battle of Omosu (Omosu no Tatakai) was one of many conflicts between the Hojo and Takeda clans during Japan's Sengoku period. What sets this battle apart is its rarity as one of the few naval engagements in pre-modern Japan. The conflict occurred off the coast of the Izu Peninsula, involving the fleets of Hojo Ujimasa, the leader of the Hojo clan, and Takeda Katsuyori, the head of the Takeda clan.
-
The Battle of Azukizaka
The Battle of Azukizaka, also known as the Battle of Bato-ga-hara, occurred in 1564, as Tokugawa Ieyasu aimed to quash the emerging threat of the Ikko-ikki, a coalition of monks, samurai, and peasants strongly opposed to samurai rule.
-
Battle of Osaka
Upon Toyotomi Hideyoshi's death in 1598, Japan entered a period of governance by the Council of Five Elders, with Tokugawa Ieyasu wielding the most influence. Following his victory over Ishida Mitsunari in the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, Ieyasu effectively seized control of Japan and disbanded the Council. In 1603, the Tokugawa shogunate was established in Edo, with Hideyoshi's son, Toyotomi Hideyori, and his mother, Yodo-dono, permitted to reside at Osaka Castle. Hideyori was granted a significant fief valued at 657,400 koku but remained confined to the castle for several years. As a means of control, it was arranged for Hideyori to marry Senhime, the daughter of Hidetada, in 1603, who had ties to both clans. Ieyasu aimed to establish a strong and stable regime under his clan's rule, with only the Toyotomi, led by Hideyori and influenced by Yodo-dono, posing a challenge to his ambitions.
-
Battle of Shizugatake
The Battle of Shizugatake, occurring during Japan's Sengoku period, unfolded between Toyotomi Hideyoshi (then known as Hashiba Hideyoshi) and Shibata Katsuie in Shizugatake, Omi Province, spanning two days from the 20th day of the fourth month of Tensho 11 (equivalent to June 10-11, 1583, on the Gregorian calendar). Katsuie, supporting Oda Nobutaka's claim as successor of Oda Nobunaga, engaged in a succession dispute within the Oda clan, ultimately favoring Hideyoshi.
